


never let me go

by regionals



Series: Joshler QAF!AU [4]
Category: I Don't Know How But They Found Me (Band), Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Age Difference, HIV Positive Character, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, for the love of god read the note
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 18:39:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16068971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regionals/pseuds/regionals
Summary: Brendon fucks off, as Josh has so lovingly put it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marsakat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsakat/gifts).



> **IMMA KEEP IT REAL W YALL. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ PACIFIC DAYDREAM CHANCES ARE THIS FIC WILL NOT MAKE SENSE BECAUSE IM USING WORLD BUILDING AND CHARACTERIZATION THAT IVE ALREADY DONE FOR ANOTHER FIC.**
> 
> anyways thank mars for this? i was like "what if brallon broke up in PD and josh and tyler date dallon instead" and she was like "do it pussy" (different phrasing of course since mars is a sweetie and not an asshole) and i was like... god damn it
> 
> anyways this aint meant to be some solid complete fic and i dont think it ever was? just. me waffling about how pd/endless would be if josh and tyler dated dallon lmfao
> 
> i might add onto it tbh i might not it just depends ig?  
> anyways mars this is for you smh

 

Brendon fucks off, as Josh has so lovingly put it.

He doesn’t even know it’s happened until he’s woken up at two in the morning from his doorbell going off. The doorbell rings and suddenly he feels like he’s twenty nine again, and he’s half expecting little baby eighteen year old Tyler to be on the other side of the door. It’s not Tyler, though, and Josh realizes he’s thirty three and that Tyler’s not even in Ohio right now as he opens his door. He’s greeted with the sour stench of booze and _Dallon,_ who is staggering back and forth on his feet, eyes all red and puffy and rubbed raw, slurring out, “Brendon dumped me.”

Josh is exhausted and it takes him _a minute_ to process exactly what Dallon had said. _“Huh?”_

“Can I—” _burp_ “—come in?”

“Of course.” Josh frowns and steps back, and tugs his friend into the apartment by pinching part of the sleeve on his jacket. “Let’s uh…” Josh racks his brain, trying to think of what Tyler would do whenever he was drunk like this. “Let’s get you some water and something to eat, alright?” He leads Dallon to the dining table, and gets him sat down in the spot he usually sits whenever he comes over for dinner. (Dallon lingers around the apartment more than he, Josh, or Tyler would like to admit.) Josh starts off with a bottle of water, setting it in front of Dallon after uncapping it for him. “Little sips. Don’t make yourself sick.”

He proceeds to spend the next twenty minutes fumbling his way through making breakfast food for either of them. (Josh assumes he’s not going to get to sleep any time soon, since Dallon isn’t as drunk as he thought he was.) He makes a pancake a piece for either of them, uses up half a pack of turkey bacon, and even makes scrambled eggs. Dallon gags as Josh is setting the plate in front of him, and Josh has to bite his cheek to keep from laughing, because he remembers that feeling far too well. “You’ll feel better when you wake up if you eat that, Dallon.”

The man sniffs, and takes the fork that gets handed to him. Josh sets his own plate across from Dallon, and backtracks to his fridge to get a bottle of syrup. He hands it to Dallon, who pours some of it onto his pancake as Josh is getting situated in his own seat across from him. While Josh is pouring syrup onto his pancake, he asks, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“He broke up with me because he _apparently,_ _”_ Dallon uses more force than necessary as he cuts a bite out of the pancake, “can’t deal with the fact that we’re friends.”

“Sounds like him,” Josh mutters. “Uh. I suck at talking. Tyler’s gone, or I’d just… let you talk to him instead.”

“I wanted to talk to _you,_ specifically, so it’s fine. Can I sleep here tonight? He’s… in the apartment, still.”

“Absolutely, dude. Um. My couch sucks to sleep on if you’re drunk, but… If you’re okay with it, you can share my bed with me. Sleepover, I guess.”

“Sounds fun. I can already hear him having a stroke over it.”

Josh starts cackling, and shakes his head.

They finish eating, Josh lends Dallon some clothes to sleep in, and they sit up talking about nonsensical topics for a few hours while Dallon sobers up and while they watch reruns of _The Nanny_ before falling asleep.

***

The morning after is… awkward. Dallon’s phone starts ringing around nine, and it wakes both of them up. Josh grumbles and elbows Dallon, since he’s too tired to register in his head that it’s not Tyler who’s sharing his bed with him for once. Dallon whines out an _ow_ and Josh realizes his mistake. He doesn’t feel too bad, though, as his friend answers his phone. He can recognize Brendon’s voice anywhere, and he has half a mind to drag himself out of bed, and out of his room to give Dallon some much needed privacy as he has a _chat_ with Brendon.

Josh steals one of Tyler’s energy drinks from the fridge, and he’s half way through it and reading the front page of a month old newspaper when Dallon walks out of the hallway. He’s dressed in the clothes he was wearing last night, with the exception of Josh’s t-shirt, which he’s wearing under his button up that he didn’t feel like buttoning. His hair sticks up everywhere and his voice is deep and gravelly as he says, “Uh. Can you drive me home…? I need to take my antivirals. Brendon… called to remind me.”

“Do you want to come back here afterward…? Or do you need to talk to him more?”

“If it’s not too much trouble—”

“It’s not, man. You’re welcome here any time.”

“Thanks.”

***

Dallon slips into his apartment complex long enough to get a gym bag with a few changes of clothes, things he needs for work, and his medications before coming back down. He puts his things into the backseat of Josh’s car, and as he’s getting himself buckled into the passenger’s seat, he says, “He’s moving out, apparently, and says he’s going to be gone by Tuesday.”

“And you want to stay with me until Tuesday, right?” Josh guesses as he’s pulling out of his parking space, since he kind of wants to get the fuck out of that parking lot before Brendon sees him.

“If I can, I would _super_ appreciate it. I, uh… Don’t have the balls to face my mom right now, otherwise I’d stay with her. I’d rather stay with a friend that has ample knowledge on the situation rather than _her,_ since she’s too nosy.”

Josh nods, and waits to pick the conversation up again until they’re in the parking lot of a McDonald’s with a few hamburgers, since Dallon has to eat with his medications. “Do you know why he broke up with you, other than the fact that he doesn’t like that we’re friends?”

“He basically said he wants as much distance from you as possible, that it’ll be good for him, and that since we’re… close, he can’t be with me. Which is bullshit, but whatever.”

“Sounds like a crock of shit, for sure.” Josh cracks a sad half grin.

“We were technically engaged, y’know. This all kind of… hit me. It was too unexpected.”

“I’m… shocked, myself. If anything I sort of thought the two of you were endgame. I mean… you’re good for him, and I know he’s good for you.”

“It wasn’t perfect, but I just… Over a fucking friendship, he wants to end it with me. I know the whole situation with his ex—Ryan or whatever the fuck—and you, so… I’d figure he’d be able to let me have at least one friend.”

“Does he not let you have other friends?” Josh raises an eyebrow.

“It’s not like that. Uh. I don’t—I don’t have tons of friends. I have you, and Tyler I guess. It’s just inconvenient that you’re one of my only friends, and that I _was_ engaged to your ex best friend who was in love with you anyways.”

“I’m sorry about that, by the way. I know it’s not my fault… that I can’t control how he feels about me, but I just—I feel responsible anyways.”

“It’s not your fault, man.”

***

Tyler’s cutting dough into long, flat strips, since he’s making homemade pasta for dinner, and he’s listening to Josh talk about the infamous _Dallon and Brendon_ breakup. “—and, really, out of all of us… I thought they’d be the least likely to break up. Like, man! I could’ve pictured _us_ breaking up before them.”

“Josh, we’re basically married. If we broke up, the earth would split in two.” Tyler raises his eyebrows a little bit as he’s grabbing a small handful of flour to keep his noodles from sticking together.

Josh rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Honestly, maybe it’ll be good for both of them. Maybe Dallon can… I dunno. Find a more rewarding relationship, or something that suits him better than what he had with Brendon, and maybe Brendon can find someone that I _don_ _’t_ know, and that also treats him well.”

“I hope so, man. I hate Brendon and all, but I do hope he finds someone he can… work with, or whatever. I mean… He worked with Dallon, but maybe they had more problems than we know about. Glass half full kind of shit, y’know?”

“Exactly.”

Josh is content with watching Tyler make homemade noodles, but he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket with a text message.

***

**Dallon:** Hey I know Ive been at your apartment a little too much over the past month but do you maybe have an extra spot at your dinner table?

**Dallon:** I’m lonely and hungry and I sort of suck at cooking

**Josh:** Let me ask Tyler if it’s okay. It should be okay, but, ah, I should run this by him just in case he’s planning something.

***

“Speaking of the devil…” Josh mumbles. “This isn’t supposed to be a date night, is it?”

“… Not really? I’m kind of just hungry for noodles, and I haven’t made anything homemade in awhile. Why?”

“Dallon just, uh… Sent me a text, saying that he’s hungry and lonely. He wanted to know if he can come over.”

“Honestly, yeah. He’s more than welcome, and I’m making more than enough for three people.”

“I’ll pass the message along, then.”

***

“ _This is nice,”_ Dallon thinks as he twirls his fork in the fettuccine alfredo he’d been served with upon sitting down at Josh and Tyler’s dining table. He hasn’t had a home cooked meal in awhile, and he’d be the first to admit that Tyler is something of a culinary genius, if nothing else. He’s not joining in on the conversation, since he sort of feels like a third wheel around the two of them. He always does. Tyler and Josh are like a well tuned machine—they work in tandem together, and there’s almost never a lull in their conversation.

Dallon does catch the look that Tyler gives him eventually, though. It’s a raised eyebrows sort of look, and after Tyler swallows the bite of food in his mouth, he asks, “How was your day? I’m sure you’re bored of hearing us yammer about our days. Tell us about yours.”

Josh turns a bit to look at Dallon, who sort of feels as if he’s been put on the spot. He stammers as he starts speaking. _“Uh…_ It was… there, I guess. Taught young adults about music, did my paperwork, uh… Graded assignments. Being a professor isn’t exactly… interesting, not… Not like you guys.”

“I mean… it’s interesting in the way that you’re our friend, and we care about you and how your day went. Was it at least good?” Dallon sort of gets it, now, when Josh talks about how _caring_ Tyler is. He cares about everything.

“Well, yeah. It was alright. Nothing bad happened, and, I mean… I get to finish the day off properly, with a good meal. I think I’m pretty content.”

“Sometimes being content is everything, man.” Tyler lifts up his glass of water, as if to propose a toast. “Cheers.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, can I ask something?” Tyler’s sitting on the counter in their bathroom, clipping his toenails, and Josh is standing next to him, shaving his face, since he hasn’t shaved in a few days and has an important meeting to attend the next morning.

“Go for it.”

“So… since Dallon’s single… _technically_ it falls within the rules of our relationship for one, or both of us, to fuck him, right?”

Josh wasn’t expecting that question, so much so that he goes _backwards_ with his razor, making it look as if he unshaved, and says, _“What?”_ in one of those _you can_ _’t say that_ tones.

“Just answer.”

“I mean… _technically,_ yeah. You fucked Ashley, but that… ended up being messy.”

“I know, but with her… she had a crush on me, one that I couldn’t reciprocate, and it was a poor choice on my end to agree to it.”

“Do you want to fuck him?”

“I mean… I don’t have a burning desire to. He’s hot and all, but if anything…” Tyler trails off, and drops one of his toenail clippings into the waste bin. “I was just asking, to let you know that if _you_ wanted to, you’re allowed.”

“And what does _that_ mean?” Josh has his tongue in his cheek, and half of his face shaved.

“Oh, _c_ _’mon.”_ Tyler rolls his eyes. “I know you like him.”

“I’m with you,” Josh tells him.

“I know. I’m not mad about it. I think it’s cute, actually.”

“You act like you want me to date him.” Josh scoffs softly, and taps his razor against the sink before resuming his actions. “Which is _outside_ of the rules, by a _long shot._ _”_

“I know, I know. I’m _just saying,_ if you ever want to see what it’s like to fuck him… You’re allowed to find out.”

“If it was any of our other friends that I happened to like that way, I’d take you up on that offer, but it’d be too weird,” Josh mumbles.

“Why?” Tyler quirks an eyebrow.

“Well… If anything happened between me and him, I wouldn’t want it to be one fuck, which is why nothing’s happened. He’s the kind of person I’d want to take out on dates and stuff before fucking him, which, again, is outside of the rules, and even if it wasn’t… It’d be weird. Also, for the majority of my friendship with him, he’s been in a _very_ committed relationship with my ex best friend who had an unrequited crush on me, so that’s another reason nothing happened. Brendon would’ve had a fucking stroke, I swear.”

“Even more reason. So, you do like him?”

“I mean, _I guess._ _”_ Josh shrugs, and drops his razor into the sink, since he’s done shaving his face by now. As he’s wiping his face off, he continues. “Not enough to want to do anything at this moment, or ever, and trust me—I’m more than in love with you—my feelings for you are just as prevalent now as they’ve ever been.”

“I’m not saying that they’re not, Josh. I know you love me. I’m not insecure about that. I’m insecure about literally everything about myself except for my relationship with you. And… I mean… We’ve been together for awhile. We could always… bend the rules.”

“Why, oh _why_ are you _bent_ on that idea?” Josh’s cheeks are red; he’s embarrassed. “What if it ends up being another _Min_ situation?”

“It won’t, because you’re not going behind my back, or you wouldn’t be if you were to pursue that. Josh—you’re already _not_ a monogamous person. I love that and accept that about you. My point is that if you want to try seeing if you got anything with him… You are _allowed._ _”_

“You’re _weird._ _”_

“Maybe I am.” Tyler shrugs this time. “Maybe I’m weird for wanting to see you have fun.”

***

It takes Josh another month of playing ping pong with himself in his head before he’s confronting Tyler in their living room, saying, “I want to have a talk, if I’m going to ask Dallon on a date.”

Tyler looks so full of fucking _glee_ that Josh swears he’s blinded for a moment. “Please, sit. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for anything.”

Josh rolls his eyes and sits on the other end of the couch. “You’re _so_ weird.”

“Yeah, yeah. What do you want to talk about?”

“No matter what happens, we aren’t breaking up, and I am not breaking up with you.”

“Of course not. Hell would freeze over.”

“And the earth would split in two, yadda yadda. Look… If I do this, I want you to be involved.”

“How involved are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t want this to be just about me, because I can easily see problems arising if it’s _just_ me doing this. I’m not—I’m not saying you gotta date him or whatever, if that even happens, but we’re going to have to talk a lot.”

“Full disclosure is one of our rules already. I’m not worried about that. I trust you.”

“I’m just clarifying. If I…” Josh sighs, and scrubs his hands down his face. “I hate having crushes on people. I get embarrassed too easily. Ugh.” He removes his hands from his face before continuing. “I have intimacy issues. You’re—you’re well aware, but I’m… I’m gonna probably _need_ you to be involved, and to hold my hand through it. I know I’ve been doing the therapy thing for a few years now, but… I’m not… I’ve been in the same relationship that entire time. I don’t know how to go about this stuff, because everything I’ve learned has been with you. I still don’t trust people easily, and I can’t—I don’t… I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m not going to be able to do anything sexual with him without you being involved somehow. It’s different when it’s with people I don’t know and that I don’t have a pre-existing friendship or relationship with.”

Tyler nods, and spends a few minutes thinking of how to phrase his response. “I think you’re over thinking it a little bit. Do you want to go on a date with him?”

“I mean… _kind of,_ yeah. But I want you to be _involved._ _”_

“Do you want me to go with you?” Tyler’s joking, he really is.

It quits being a joke pretty fast, though, because Josh nods. “I know it’s weird, when you think about it, or whatever, but I just… This sounds so stupid, but this is something I want to experience with you. If you aren’t comfortable with it, I totally understand, and we can forget about this whole ordeal.”

“Maybe it can be an experiment, man. Couples experiment.”

“By tying each other up or busting out handcuffs. Not by getting another boyfriend,” Josh snaps.

Tyler rolls his eyes. “Don’t snap. Maybe… _us_ dating him can be an experiment, and if it doesn’t work out, then so be it. Dallon’s not the kind of dude to up and leave over stuff not working out. I mean, _shit_ _—_ Brendon had to move halfway across the state before they lost contact with each other. If it were to work out, though… It could be fun.”

***

Dallon’s shoveling spaghetti into his mouth when he realizes he’s being stared at. He pauses, mid bite, and looks up to make eye contact first with Tyler, then with Josh, and then Tyler again. He doesn’t sit up straight, but he does swallow before asking, “Did I do something?”

“Not at all.” Tyler’s using this easy-going and agreeable tone, which Dallon finds suspicious.

He sits up now. “Why are the two of you staring at me like that, then?”

Josh looks away from him, and down to his own plate. He’s pushing his meal around with his fork, and Tyler winds up being the one to say something. “We want to know if you wanted to go on a date with us.” Tyler says that slowly and carefully and it doesn’t click in Dallon’s brain what he means.

“I… I’m not seeing anyone right now, Tyler. It’s going to be weird if I’m just sitting there with an imaginary friend while the two of you are on a date, basically.”

“You’re misunderstanding. We, we being me and Josh, are asking _you_ out on a date.”

“Like… a double date…?”

“No. Just a date. With the two of us. Alone.” Tyler punctuates what he says by tapping his fork on his plate. “Like, you, Josh, and me, as a unit, on a date together.”

Dallon doesn’t know how else to respond, other than to look at Josh, who looks _mortified,_ and to ask, “Is his old man fetish getting worse?” since he’s the eldest out of the three of them.

“It was my idea,” Josh admits, nice and quiet.

“ _Huh?”_

Tyler snaps his fingers to get Dallon and Josh to both look at him. “Josh, can I explain?”

Josh nods.

“Okay, look—Josh likes you. In a more than friend way. _Josh_ also has a lot of intimacy issues, and we talked about it among ourselves, and decided that, if you’re okay with it… We would like to try… dating you. I guess. This is a lot to spring on you out of nowhere, but it’s been… How long has it been since he broke up with The Forehead, Josh?”

“Seven months,” comes Josh’s answer.

“Are you two having relationship problems? If you are, I don’t think trying to go on a date with me is the answer.” Dallon interrupts them.

“We’re not, actually. We’re doing perfectly fine. My point is that you’re single and available and you have two fairly attractive men, both of whom are decent people, wanting to go on a date with you. It doesn’t have to turn into anything if it’s too awkward, but the possibility is there if it goes well.”

“I don’t want to be another one night stand for either of you, or another notch in your bedposts.”

“We’re not… interested in fucking you right now.”

“Is it the HIV thing?”

“No, _no._ Oh my god.” Tyler rolls his eyes. “Both of you, with the self deprecating shit. Jesus. No, Dallon—we don’t give a shit if you have HIV, as long as you aren’t trying to purposefully infect us. Do you want to go on a date with us or not?”

Dallon knows his answer, but he takes the time to reach to his left to place a gentle hand on Josh’s shoulder, to get him to look at him. “This is what you want, right?”

Josh is visibly embarrassed, but he nods slowly.

“Cool. Um.” Dallon pulls his hand away. “Yes. I would enjoy going on a date. With both of you.”

***

The date isn’t awkward.

Josh works himself up and manages to convince himself that it’s going to go awfully, that Dallon’s going to hate both him and Tyler by the end of the night, but the exact opposite happens, pretty much.

Josh has gained a little confidence back by the end of the night, and as he and Tyler are being _gentlemen_ and walking Dallon up to his apartment, he asks, “What’s the verdict?”

Dallon turns to look behind himself, at Josh. “What do you mean?”

“What I said. Is this a one time thing, or…?”

Dallon _was_ unlocking his apartment door, but once the door is unlocked, he pulls his keys out and doesn’t open it. “Can I be honest?”

Tyler nods without saying anything, and looks between the two of them.

“I think that was the most fun I’ve ever had on a date, and I’d… honestly love to go on another one.” He’s smiling a little bit, and Josh deflates out of relief.

“I thought you were going to wind up hating us,” He admits.

Dallon snorts and laughs a little bit. “No, no. Even if it was awkward, I think I’d probably want to try again, just to get over the awkwardness. Um. I kinda… need to get to bed, since I have shit to do tomorrow, but… Okay. Uh. How is this supposed to go? Do I just—do I get to kiss both of you, or…?”

Josh looks to Tyler, and asks, “Can I…?”

“Only if I can too.”

That’s all Dallon needs. He goes in to kiss Josh first, and Josh feels like someone replaces his insides with fluff as Dallon’s giving him a nice, slow kiss. It’s nothing heated, but it’s a sweet kiss, the tooth rotting kind, and Josh kisses him back for a solid ten seconds. He’s expecting the fluff to be replaced by acidic and toxic jealousy when the eldest man is going in to kiss Tyler, but if anything, he just feels his heart swell with affection as he watches them. Tyler kisses him kind of how he kisses Josh, nice and firm and he keeps Dallon there until he decides he’s done with the kiss.

***

“How was it?” Tyler’s bouncing a little bit on his feet as he’s following Josh into their apartment. He’s a little giddy and excited, because it’s been, literally, years since he’s been on a first date with someone.

“You were there,” Josh mutters as he takes his shoes off by the door, and hangs his wool coat up on the coat rack.

“You know what I mean, Josh. Was it fun? Did you like it?”

“I mean, I loved it, honestly. Dallon is very… Charming. And lovely. That date was, like… Everything I hoped it would be. It’s weird because I know it should _feel_ weird, since society is so nitpicky about monogamy and only being able to date one person, or whatever, but it just wasn’t weird, really. I mean, Brendon moved to fucking Cleveland, so it’s not like he’s here to breathe down our necks about it, and Dallon’s so _not_ judgmental, and I know you’re just enthusiastic about _everything,_ so… It works. It works and I’m _glad_ it works.” Josh shrugs, and walks into their kitchen, since he’s thirsty and needs water. While he’s getting ice out of his freezer for his glass, he asks, “You’re not jealous or anything, are you?”

“Not at all, actually. I’m sure most people would think that I _should_ feel that way, but I don’t. I mean… Watching the two of you kiss just kinda… My heart felt very full, to put it simply. You’ve had a crush on him for a _while,_ right?”

“I guess. I dunno. I met him through Brendon, so immediately I wrote it off as _not happening,_ but now it’s, uh, _happening._ Around the time I started… I dunno, _feeling_ that stuff, was when I was going to NA again, and it was when _our_ relationship was getting a lot more serious, and he was, and still is, my NA sponsor, so it wouldn’t have worked. Really, I wouldn’t have acted on it if you hadn’t have said anything. I didn’t even know it’s a thing you’d be into.”

“Of course it is. The cool thing about me being so much younger than you, is that naturally, I’m more… _out there_ than you are. I don’t even think the whole dating another person thing needs to be a huge deal, especially if it’s the right person, and if there’s tons of communication going on.”

“How about your feelings? How do you feel about him?”

“Well… I literally had a physical altercation with Brendon over which one of us got to fuck him as a one night stand, so…” Tyler gestures with his hand. “I feel _something._ It’s… a little weird, since he was one of my professors for awhile, but he’s so _attractive,_ and he’s turning out to be… very nice. I didn’t even know someone could be that nice. I mean—you’re nice, to me, but we’ve been together for so long that we’re, like… Kinda mean to each other, but in a good way.”

“We’re comfortable around each other, is a better way to put it. He’s very polite and friendly, and very easy to have feelings for.”

“Exactly.”


	3. Chapter 3

Dallon thinks it’s a little _convenient_ that the one day he forgets to grab his lunch out of his fridge is the one day Tyler slips into his office with a few tupperware containers, both containing a lunch sized meal, with a pleasant smile on his face. “Good afternoon, Tyler.” Dallon hopes he sounds as suspicious as Tyler looks right now. “What do you have there?”

“Lunch.” It’s a simple answer. “We had spaghetti again last night, so I figured me and you could have lunch.”

“Alone…?”

“…Do you see Josh? Yes, alone.” Tyler rolls his eyes and sets one of the containers down, with a plastic fork on top of it.

“And Josh is just… okay with that?” Dallon’s going to question Tyler, sure, but he’s still going to eat the spaghetti as if it were his last meal.

“Yes…? He’s the one who suggested it.” Tyler shrugs, and sits on the other side of Dallon’s desk, so he can get ready to eat. “How’s… being a professor going?”

Dallon… shrugs, as he’s cutting his spaghetti up to make it easier to eat. “Same as every day, I guess. Um… I have a few smart asses in one of my lectures this semester, and I’m not really happy about it.”

“What kind of smart asses?”

“Oh, just… You know how I like classical music?”

Tyler nods. “You’re very fond of Tchaikovsky, correct?” He tilts his head, giving his full attention to the man across from him.

“Yes, very. I don’t keep up to date with any music, and a few of my pupils have been giving me shit over it. It doesn’t bug me, really, but it’s annoying. Why does it matter that I like romantic-period Russian music? Tchaikovsky was a phenomenal composer, so I really don’t see what the issue is. Also, I teach _music history._ I need to be a classical music buff anyways.”

“Classical music isn’t… usually what I go for when I want to listen to music, _but,_ I don’t think it’s worth teasing you incessantly over. And, to be fair… Josh doesn’t listen to anything newer than 1980, unless I’m the one who made it. My point is that everyone has their tastes.”

“Exactly. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record about Brendon, but—”

“—you can talk about him all you want, man. From what I hear… he’s one of the only people you’ve had a long term relationship with, right? I get it, if you want or need to talk about him.”

“Huh. Alright. Well…” Dallon stirs his spaghetti around while he tries to think of how to say what he wants to say. “He hated when I would put on classical music. I love classical music so much, especially stuff from the romantic period, because it’s… _romantic._ I know I’m… The poster boy of masculinity, but there’s something about music from that period that just makes me feel all light and happy and like I want to fall in love. That sounds so corny; I apologize.”

“No need. I understand. Admittedly, I haven’t really listened to classical music outside of what you made us listen to when I was in your class a few years ago, but what I did listen to… I can understand why you like it. It’s relaxing, in a way, and although in some of it there’s a lot going on, at the same time, there’s not a lot going on, and there’s not a lot to focus on. Instead of words to focus on, it’s just music, and it’s cool. I think it’s cool, how composers can get a message across with _just_ the sound of the music.”

“Y’know… I’d love to show you some of my favorite pieces, sometime, if you’d be open to it.” Dallon leans forward on his desk with his head tilted just a bit.

“Are you… asking me out on a date?” Tyler has a goofy little grin on his face, and he thinks to himself about how he can’t _wait_ to tell Josh about this.

“I think so, yeah. If inviting you over to listen to classical music counts as a date, then yeah, that’s what I’m doing.”

Tyler’s goofy grin turns into a full blown grin as he nods, nice and enthusiastic. “I’d love that.”

***

Once Tyler leaves, with his tupperware containers, saying something about needing to get to his afternoon classes, Dallon sends Josh a few text messages.

***

 **Dallon:** I asked Tyler out on a date I think

 **Dallon:** Is that okay?

 **Josh:** Yes that’s okay

 **Josh:** I’m interested to hear how that happened, though. (I’m not mad at all—my eyebrows are raised. That sounded like I was mad.)

 **Dallon:** You don’t sound mad

 **Dallon:** Basically… He’s very nice and I just kind of did it? Figured if we’re all doing this, I may as well go for it.

 **Dallon:** I’m also not that close to him, so it could also be seen as me trying to get to know him better.

 **Josh:** It’s okay, man. No need to justify yourself. This makes me happy believe it or not.

***

“I hear you got asked out on a date,” Josh states at possibly the worst time.

Tyler _sighs_ as his hands slide up Josh’s thighs, coming to rest on the man’s hips as he sinks down onto Tyler’s cock. “Is this the time to talk about it? While you’re riding me on our couch at two in the morning?”

“Can you think of a better time?” Josh braces his hands on Tyler’s shoulders, and adjusts his position a bit before he starts moving, slowly and fluidly. It’s late and he’s tired—he’s not exactly looking for the fuck of his life right now.

“Over dinner? Maybe earlier while we were cuddling on the couch?”

“Are you gonna fuck him?” Josh asks in a _tone_ that makes Tyler feel a little weak in the knees as he leans forward to mouth at his neck. “I bet he’s hung.”

“You say that—watch him have an average dick.” Tyler twitches his hips up, and reaches for Josh’s cock. “I’m not gonna fuck him without you there.”

“I wouldn’t be mad if you did.” Josh rolls his hips and bites Tyler’s neck, hard enough to make him gasp.

“I know you wouldn’t, but I think—” Tyler cuts himself off to let out a bit of a moan, since Josh intentionally clenches around him as he starts _bouncing_ ; “—I think if that happened, we’d need to have a talk about it, with him. I might make out with him, though. The way he talked—made it sound like he wanted to make out or somethin’.”

“Sounds hot.” Tyler can feel Josh smiling into his neck, and it makes him roll his eyes.

***

Tyler hasn’t even been in Dallon’s apartment. He’d say that the place suits him, though. It’s small, compared to Josh’s apartment, at least, and there’s books and papers scattered around. It’s the kind of place that a classical music buff slash music history professor would live, Tyler thinks.

“So, uh…” Dallon’s just put in a CD with a handful of his favorite classical pieces as he starts; “Can we talk?” He looks a little nervous, and he’s swaying back and forth a little bit on his feet, fidgeting.

Tyler’s eyebrows shoot up for a moment, but he nods. “Yeah, man. What do you want to talk about?”

“This… situation. I want to talk to both of you separately, then together, but… This is, uh, a conversation I like to have with potential partners.”

Tyler motions for him to go on, and follows Dallon with his gaze as the man walks over to one of his armchairs to sit. (Tyler’s sat at one end of the couch.)

“Why do you like me?”

“I think you’re nice, and very handsome. I don’t—I don’t think there’s a specific reason why; you just have a magnetic personality. Was that a good answer?”

Dallon snorts a tiny bit, but nods. “It was. Now, uh… about the HIV thing. You can say you’re okay with it all you want, but right now, at this moment, _are you?_ _”_

“Do you want me to tell you I’m not? Is that what you’re expecting?”

“I want you to be honest with yourself, and me. I don’t want to let myself get emotionally invested in either of you, only to find out someone has an issue with it. I could die were I to get so much as a cold at the wrong time, and there’s always a chance that, if any of us did anything sexual, there could be a slip up or a condom breaks or something.”

“I’ve slept with a few guys who are HIV positive, and I get tested every three months, even when I’m not sleeping around. _I_ _’m_ fine with it. I understand that there’s a risk that comes with it, and I accept that. I’m okay with it. Also… Do consider I’ve been with Josh for… five years now? In that time, he’s gone through getting _off_ of drugs, and kicking his addiction, and he’s also had cancer and there was a very real possibility that he could’ve died, were we to not have caught it when we did, or radiation hadn’t have done its job. I’m familiar with the idea that a partner could die on me, or that something could happen. I mean, shit—I almost got killed when I was eighteen. I think Josh stands about where I do on the situation as well. We’ve—we’ve talked about it on our own, too.”

“And the age thing—”

“—it’s not weird if you don’t _make_ it weird, man.”

“You’re twenty two. I’m thirty six. I turn thirty seven in May.”

“I’m aware. Josh is thirty three, and he turns thirty four in June, and I turn twenty three next December. I’ve been… in a relationship with Josh since I was eighteen. I know how to work with an age difference. I can tell when I’m _genuinely_ being taken advantage of, and I know when a conversation needs to be had regarding that stuff. With me and Josh—the age thing doesn’t factor into it that much. We accept that there’s a maturity difference and we acknowledge it, but we don’t let it affect how much we love each other. I’m going through shit that he was going through at my age, and I’m sure I’m going through shit that you went through in _your_ early twenties. Point is—it’s not a thing we really worry about, at least not anymore.”

“I just feel like I’m going to take advantage of you, somehow because you’re so… young.”

“You’re not going into this with the intention of hurting me or _using_ me, right?”

“No, of course not.”

“ _Alright._ Don’t worry about it, then.” Tyler rolls his eyes. “If I feel like somethings wrong, I’ll tell you. You don’t have any intentions of doing bad stuff, and I trust you not to. I also don’t have any intentions of taking advantage of you, either, in case that was a worry.”

“One more thing.”

“Hit me.”

“Please don’t lead me on.”

Tyler stands up, and motions for Dallon to stand up too. He holds his arms open once they’re both standing, and Dallon takes the bait. Tyler hugs him, _tight,_ and replies. “I promise not to lead you on, and I promise that I’ll try my very best not to hurt you. If I feel like it’s not working out, I’ll be up front with you.”

Dallon hugs him back and inhales and, alright, Tyler smells nice. He smells like pine scented body wash and whatever laundry detergent that he and Josh use. He likes it. “I appreciate that.”

Tyler nods, and when they detach, he grabs Dallon by the hand and tugs him towards his couch. “Do you want to hear the rules I have with Josh? To give you an idea of how it’s going to go if this thing works out?” He asks all that once they’re sitting down, on opposite ends of the couch. (It’s not a large couch, but it’s bigger than a love seat.)

“It might, uh… be nice to know.”

“So… Our first rule _was_ not to have any relationships with anyone else, which… We’re bending a little bit. But… No dating anyone else, at least not without everyone agreeing on it, I guess. The second one was no sleeping with anyone else more than once, aside from each other. Our third one was to say something were we to have an issue with each other, and we agreed on having full disclosure. Something happens that the other should know about, then we say something. If this thing with the three of us goes any further, you’re, uh… Well… I think the three of us should probably sit down and hash out rules that fit whatever we got, I guess. Most of it boils down to not going behind each other’s backs, and to communicate _very_ frequently. Also—Josh and I do sleep around a little bit, and if you’re not comfortable with that, I’m willing to stop, but you’ll have to talk to Josh if you want him to stop.”

“That doesn’t bug me, the sleeping around part. When I first met the two of you, I thought it was weird, but after getting to know either of you… It’s not that weird, really. It’s not like you guys are doing it every night, are you?”

“No, fuck no. I’m too busy with school, and my career, and he’s too busy with his company for either of us to go out more than once a month or whatever. We _do_ fuck on a highly regular basis, though, which is something else that’s, ah… on the table, if stuff works out.” Tyler wiggles his eyebrows, and Dallon groans quietly, the tips of his ears going red. “Anyways… You wanna… make out?”

“I mean… I’m not against that idea, but, uh… is Josh—”

“Josh practically _begged_ me to make out with you, so… I think he’s okay with it. I can ask him, if you want, though.”

“I, uh… _Would_ like if you did that. Just—just for my peace of mind. I don’t want to cause any problems.”

“You aren’t causing any problems,” Tyler tells him as he’s pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket, and flipping it open before navigating to his text conversation with Josh.

***

 **Tyler:** can I make out with Dallon

 **Josh:** Yes. Why are you asking me?

 **Tyler:** he said he’d feel better if I asked you and I kind of want to kiss him really bad because he’s really cute sooo

 **Josh:** Tell him he’s weird but that you two have my blessing, haha.

 **Josh:** Have fun ;^)

***

Tyler shows Dallon his phone. “Is that good enough?”

Dallon nods, and as Debussy’s _Clair de Lune_ starts playing quietly from the tinny speakers of his stereo, Tyler’s closing his phone, and climbing into his lap.

***

“Is Tyler always so…” Dallon waves a french fry around for a moment, before dunking it into ketchup, and cramming it into his mouth. He finishes his question around a cheek full of french fry. “… submissive?”

Josh snorts, and shakes his head. They’re sitting in his car in the parking lot of a McDonald’s, again, since it’s a thing they do—getting shitty fast food once or twice a month and hanging out before going home. “No. He’s not. It depends on the person and his mood, honestly. I’ll be honest with you… He’s had a bit of a crush on you since you met him in The Forehead’s stupid record store, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he acts that way until the two of you… do something. Trust me, though—when he says he’s versatile, he _means_ it.”

“I’m sure you’d know…?” Dallon gives Josh a sly look as he’s reaching for another fry.

“I’m a firm believer in the saying that size doesn’t dictate preference.”

“Yeah? What’s your preference?” Dallon wiggles his eyebrows, and Josh makes a face before picking a pickle off of his hamburger, and handing it Dallon, who happens to like pickles.

“I dunno. I only let Tyler top me, and that’s not to say I don’t _enjoy_ bottoming, because I really do, but, ah… I had a shitty ex.”

“ _Ah._ Stop me if I’m going too far, but… Would that happen to have anything to do with the ‘intimacy issues’ Tyler was talking about…?”

“It’s a little far, but… yeah. I’d say so. Uh…” Josh bites his lips, and thinks about what to say. “I don’t trust very easily. I’m a lot better about it than I was, say… Around the time I met Tyler, or you, even, but I still have a few tendencies to avoid and deflect.”

“That’s understandable, man. I don’t blame you. I have intimacy issues of my own, honestly, so… You’re not alone in that. I mean, I’ve had countless potential partners leave me over my HIV status, so after awhile… It takes its toll, I guess. Speaking of that… How do you feel about it?”

“I’m cool with it. I probably wouldn’t have been a few years ago, but your HIV status doesn’t—doesn’t define you, I guess. And, I mean… I’ve fucked a few guys who’ve had it. Similar to Tyler, I get tested every two or three months to be safe. Present time, I am HIV negative, so… Knock wood. Anyways, uh—point is, I’m alright with it. Doesn’t really make a difference, I guess…? I mean—maybe in the future I’m going to have to majorly up the condom budget—and, Jesus, I am so sorry. I talk a lot when I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?” Dallon starts giggling a little bit. “I mean… it’s cute, but _why?_ _”_

“We’re having a talk and talks spook me.” Josh makes another face. “They’re necessary, I guess, but the act of having them stresses me out and I don’t like them.”

“Y’know… I can get that. I apologize for laughing.”

“It’s cool.” Josh shrugs, and takes a sip of his water.

“So, uh… Can I ask, like… _why_ you like me? And—and _when?_ _”_

“You remember our first actual conversation? It was right after I started going to NA again. That kind of just, uh… Touched me, that conversation, and I kind of got why Brendon liked you so much. I wasn’t going to act on it after he dumped you, because… I mean, I kinda figured our ships had passed in the night, I guess. I didn’t think Tyler would be open to having a third person get involved with our relationship, and I figured you wouldn’t be interested, even if Tyler was miraculously okay with it. As it turns out… You seem to be fairly interested, and Tyler’s more than enthusiastic about it. How about you? You… seem to have an interest in me.”

“You’re very charming, and you’re handsome and nice and…I don’t want to wax poetic about you, not yet, but you’re a nice guy. Physically, you’re my type, and personality wise… I feel drawn towards you, I guess. That sounds corny as _hell._ _”_

“Oh, jeez.” Josh looks out of his window, and bites his cheek, trying not to smile. “That’s sweet of you, man.” He does smile a soft smile as he looks into his lap. He only has a moment to smile to himself, though, before there’s a hand on his cheek, and Dallons turning his head towards him. The next thing Josh knows, he’s on the receiving end of a kiss, and he feels a little light headed, partially because he wasn’t expecting it, and partially because, hey, it’s kind of a great fucking kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

“Can we, uh… talk?”

Tyler has his hand in Josh’s hair, and they’re laying on the couch watching the evening news, just after dinner. He looks down at his partner, and nods. “Always. What’s up, J?”

Josh doesn’t look up at him as he responds. “I kind of… I kind of want to _fuck_ Dallon. Well… I think I misspoke. Uh. I think that implies I want to top. I don’t. I also don’t want to have some huge overwhelming talk with him about it; I kind of just want to do it, and to get over that fear. I mean, that’s what _we_ did, and it worked out.”

“I get not wanting to have a huge discussion about it, but, um… I do think it’s worth it to at least… Y’know. Be upfront with him about it, and to at least mention it. Does he have an idea of _why_ you prefer topping when it comes to new partners, or…?”

“I hinted at it. Told him I had a shitty ex. He’s smart, so… I figure he can connect the dots. I mean… I still want you to be there if it happens, in case I, uh… Get panicky, or something, or… Whatever. I also kind of want you to be there because… We’re, uh… Doing this together, and shit, and I’d like you to be a part of it.”

“Maybe we could invite him over for date night, or something, and see how it goes. I could explain what we usually do on those nights… Dinner, a movie or a show, and sex, given everyone’s comfortable with it.”

“That sounds a lot less stressful than whatever complicated plan my brain was trying to come up with.” Josh sighs, and Tyler hugs him, before they go back to watching the news in silence.

***

Dallon feels more or less apprehensive when an invitation is extended in his direction to join in on Josh and Tyler’s bi-weekly date night. He’s informed by Tyler over text that ‘date night’ usually entails dinner, a movie or a few episodes of a tv show, and _maybe_ sex if everyone’s up for it, which obviously sounds great to him, but he spends most of the day worrying that he’s going to wind up being a third wheel.

His worries start to ebb away during dinner, though. He takes the seat at the end of the table, between Tyler a Josh pretty much, and Tyler keeps his hand on Dallon’s knee throughout the meal, and he’s pretty sure it’s Josh’s foot that keeps nudging into his own feet, like some shy form of footsie.

His worries disappear completely during the movie portion of the date night. They pile into Josh’s bed, which is more than big enough to fit the three of them—a California king—and Tyler’s the one who picks a shitty romantic comedy from the DVD collection taking up a bookshelf next to the TV. They’re about twenty minutes into the movie, and Josh has himself tucked into Dallon’s side, with his head on the man’s chest and a leg thrown over his thigh, and Tyler’s on the other side of him, on his back using his bicep as a pillow, and he keeps his hand high on Dallon’s thigh, obviously to tease him.

Dallon exhales a little harder than he meant to when he feels Josh’s mouth on his neck, and Tyler’s hand moving _up._ Otherwise, he doesn’t outwardly react, aside from tilting his head to his left as he feels Josh’s teeth on his neck, and moving his left leg to his left to allow Tyler easier access to _the goods._

When Josh’s hand slides up his shirt, coming to rest on his ribcage, with his thumb brushing over one of his nipples, he lets slip a dry comment. “I feel like I’m living out a wet dream from when I was, like, fourteen.”

Josh snorts, and gives a little kitten lick to Dallon’s neck, and isn’t that subtle about rolling his groin against Dallon’s hipbone. “Fourteen year old Dallon must’ve been having some very elaborate fantasies,” Josh remarks before sucking a hickey into Dallon’s neck. Josh likes giving people hickeys—Tyler would know.

“To be fair,” Tyler starts, voice nonchalant, from the other side of Dallon; “I spent my boy scout days learning how to essentially deep throat bananas. It’s a skill that’s paid off.”

Dallon grunts, and pretends to watch the movie as Josh gives him hickeys and lets his hand roam over his body, and as Tyler starts to slowly stroke his cock through his jeans, applying feather-light pressure, since he’s apparently something of a tease. Dallon’s a polite person, and prefers to keep his hands above belts and waistbands, but after three minutes of his hand hovering above the waistband of the shorts Josh is wearing, Josh has to prop himself up to make eye contact, and to ask, “Do you want to touch my ass?”

Tyler looks to his right at either of them, watching the situation unfold with an amused expression.

“I didn’t think I was allowed,” is what he says.

“I hate to break it to you,” Josh starts as he removes his hand from under Dallon’s shirt, so he can place it on the side of his face, “but I’ve been trying to bait you into touching my ass for… how long have we been watching this movie, Tyler?”

“Thirty minutes, give or take.” Tyler sounds so fucking _nonchalant_ still _,_ and Dallon knows that he’s just _like that,_ but it’s still a little off putting.

“Half an hour, man. I’m not a delicate snowflake. If you want to touch my ass, go for it.”

When Dallon turns his head to his left, Tyler rolls his eyes. “You don’t have to ask _me_ for permission every time you want to do something to him, man. I’m not in charge of him, and, like… you’re kind of in our bed right now, and he is literally _asking_ you to touch him. If he doesn’t like something you’re doing, trust me, he’ll tell you.”

“I feel like I’m intruding,” He admits.

“Dude. We’ve had threesomes before. We like watching each other getting off. It’s really not that big of a deal.” Tyler rolls onto his side, and props himself up. “Have you ever had a threesome?”

“Um. Not since—not since I was young. Like. Your age, Tyler.”

“Alright, well…” Tyler kisses him high on his cheekbone, and drops his face down a bit to speak quietly into his ear. “You’re as much a part of this as me and Josh are. We want to make _you_ feel good. If we wanted to just fuck each other, we wouldn’t have invited you over.” Tyler gently bats Josh’s hand away from Dallon’s face after this, before moving back up so he can kiss the man.

Josh slides back down the bed a little bit to continue his actions of giving Dallon a fresh set of hickeys on his neck, and Dallon finally lets his hand go below the waistband of Josh’s shorts, cupping his ass through them, while Tyler kisses him deeply.

Dallon also sort of gets what Josh meant when he said that, _no,_ Tyler isn’t always so _submissive._ Tyler kisses him like he means it, and when Dallon pulls away to do _something_ _—_ he forgot—Tyler bluntly says, “No. I’m not done kissing you,” before kissing him _again._

He feels (and hears) Josh laugh quietly into his neck at how Tyler had said that.

Things _progress,_ of course, and Dallon sort of wonders to himself why he thought sex with both of them was going to wind up being some kinky freak show, because it winds up just being a quiet and giggly mess of limbs and _touching_ and exploring each other’s bodies. Either of them manage to make him feel so _loved,_ too, and yeah, maybe love is a strong word, but he feels something tender spread across his chest at how they reassure him when he’s expressing insecurity over his body as Josh is trying to get him to take his shirt off.

Tyler points out that he’s underweight and not in a cute way, and Josh points out that he himself is a little _over_ weight, and that neither of them _really_ have ideal body types, and that he’s over thinking it. Both of them touch his chest and abdomen when he takes his shirt off, and Tyler leaves a few love bites on his collarbones, assuring him that he’s _gorgeous_ and that he’s everything they’d hoped for, that he’s _enough_ for them.

Josh winds up on his back between Tyler’s legs, with his head on Tyler’s stomach while Tyler runs his fingers through his hair, and Dallon’s the one between Josh’s legs, sucking him off and working him open with his fingers while he does it. Josh squirms a little bit and whines and holds onto Tyler’s arm, the one across his chest, like a lifeline.

There is a moment, though, that ends up with Tyler losing it from laughing, as Dallon’s getting _really_ into the blow job. He dips his head lower, and like the cultured man he is, he sucks one of Josh’s balls into his mouth, but when Josh makes an uncomfortable face up at Tyler, Tyler has to awkwardly reach down and tug on Dallon’s hair to get his attention, and to mumble, “Bro… That’s the fake one.”

Dallon blanks for a few moments, and the tone he says, “Pardon me,” in before switching sides sends Tyler into a fit of hysterical laughter. Tyler’s laughter makes Josh start laughing, and Dallon winds up with his forehead pressed against Josh’s thigh as his body shakes from him holding back his own giggles.

***

Pete’s always the first person to pick up on any sort of changes in anyone’s love life.

Tyler’s pulling his usual routine of snoozing with his face pressed into the counter at the diner, and Josh is on the other side of him, sipping at a mug of coffee, reading a newspaper, and holding Tyler’s hand on the countertop while the younger man naps, and usually if it were _just_ the two of them, Pete wouldn’t bat an eyelash at them, and would go back to wiping cups or whatever else, except _this time,_ Dallon’s on the other side of Tyler, and Pete absolutely does _not_ miss the fond look on his face as he looks over at Tyler.

He also notices that Dallon has a handful of hickeys peeking above the collar of his shirt, and his brain decides to remind him that Josh has a thing for giving people hickeys. (Not that he’s ever slept with him, of course, but after knowing someone for sixteen years, you learn a thing or two about them.) He can’t say that he’s surprised, honestly.

He decides not to comment on it, though, mostly since it’s none of his business, and since there’s a customer walking in, meaning he has an order to take.

***

Pete _does_ comment on it the next chance he gets to have Tyler alone, which is around four in the morning a few weeks later. Tyler saunters in, looking sweaty and kind of sparkly, which means he was at the club a few blocks down the street. Tyler orders his usual meal—a hamburger and a grape Fanta—and he’s about halfway through his hamburger, and playing Snake on his phone when Pete comes to stand in front of where he’s sitting at the counter to ask, “How are things going with you and Josh?”

A red flag pops up in Tyler’s head at the way Pete asks that. He answers him nice and vague, though. “Things are fine. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” He shrugs, and Tyler counts how long it takes for him to bring up Dallon, because he knows that, _somehow,_ Pete’s figured it out since he’s just _like that._ It takes him three minutes. “Hey, uh, have you heard anything about Dallon? He hardly comes in anymore, y’know? Not since the whole Brendon thing.”

“He was here a few weeks ago,” Tyler mumbles without looking up from his phone. Snake is very consuming. “Josh is the one who talks to him most, so go bug him.”

“Don’t you ever worry that Josh and Dallon are…”

Tyler looks up now. “What? _Fucking?_ _”_ He keeps his expression neutral as he waits for Pete to continue. Pete doesn’t say anything, though. He just tilts his head to the side, looking all concerned. “Even if they _were_ fucking… It’s bold of you to assume I wouldn’t know about it.”

“Wouldn’t it bother you?”

Tyler shrugs. “Not really. See—we have this thing called full disclosure, which allows us to have intimacy, and it allows us to build trust. If he were, say, _fucking_ Dallon, I’d know about it, and as long as he’s not going behind my back to do it, I don’t care. Also, if anything were going on between him and Dallon, it’s absolutely none of your business, because that would be a very private and intimate ordeal that you have no place knowing, unless one of them were to let you know about it, and asking _me_ about it is very shady and I personally don’t appreciate it.”

Pete’s smart. Of course he is. He backtracks and rephrases his question. “Is anything going on between _you_ and Dallon?”

Tyler shrugs. “That is also none of your business.”

***

When Tyler gets back to the apartment, Josh is already up and getting ready for work. Josh is standing in the kitchen stirring his coffee and yawning, and Tyler steps up behind him, and wraps his arms around his waist and hugs tight. He presses his cheek into Josh’s back, which is warm and soft, and sighs. “I love you, man.”

Josh snorts, and takes a test sip of his coffee before replying. “Love you too, bud. How was your night?”

“Got a quick handy in the bathroom at Atlantis, then walked to the diner. Pete knows, by the way.”

“About what?” Josh nudges Tyler away long enough for him to turn around, and for Tyler to go back to hugging him, since the younger man is feeling a little clingy. Josh rubs his upper back and waits for Tyler to go on.

“Dallon. I don’t think he knows the entire situation, but he thinks the two of you are fucking, and was being weird about it.”

“I think ‘fucking’ is a casual way of describing it, considering it was one time. Two weeks ago. You were also there, so… It wasn’t just _me._ _”_

“I’m, like… A _little_ tipsy. I didn’t want to talk to him about it, so I essentially told him to mind his own business for once. Speaking of Dallon… Is he still here?”

“Yeah. Uh. We were hanging out, and by the time we noticed how late it was… It was too late for him to want to drive home, so I kind of offered to let him spend the night, since I figured you’d be out all night.”

“Perfect. He’s in our bed, right?”

“Affirmative.” Josh nods once.

“ _Great.”_ Tyler detaches himself from Josh, and stretches. “I need someone to cuddle with while I sleep. Do you think he’d be mad if I just kinda… went in there and laid down?”

“I don’t think he’d care…? Also… It’s _our_ bed. If anything, he’d probably offer to leave.” Josh rolls his eyes. “Go to bed, man. You look exhausted. Cuddle him good for me, yeah?”

Tyler grins and smacks a kiss onto Josh’s cheek. “Have fun at work.”

***

Dallon doesn’t offer to leave, but when Tyler gets into the bed, the man whines a little bit, and rolls over to extend an arm towards him, mumbling, “C’mere.”

Tyler swears it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen. Dallon’s fingers wrap around his arm once he’s under the blankets, and he tugs him close enough to where he can lay with an arm over Tyler’s back. Tyler’s half asleep and his first reaction is to say, “You’re cute,” to him.

Dallon grunts and kisses Tyler’s shoulder, before falling back asleep.

***

The first social event the three of them attend together is _Pride._ Tyler’s busy, mostly since he’s marching with his dad’s PFLAG group, which leaves Josh and Dallon, alone, to walk around and to peek at all of the booths. Josh isn’t wearing anything overly flashy—just a vintage t-shirt that says _‘Pride’_ on it in swirly, rainbow font, and tight jeans, since those are apparently _stylish_ again. (Josh lived through the nineties and the first half of the aughts refusing to wear jeans that were anything _but_ tight fitting.) Dallon, on the other hand, is wearing the most obnoxious outfit Josh has ever seen him in, which really isn’t saying much, since he’s a professor with a (generally) muted wardrobe.

He’s wearing _booty shorts_ with fishnets underneath and a tank top that’s cut off around his midriff, his stupid Doc Marten’s that Josh is pretty sure were _his_ at some point in the past, plus, like, ten Mardi Gras bead necklaces, glitter and rhinestones on his face, and his hair even has that weird colored hair spray, made to look rainbow. (He’s also wearing a rainbow sweatband to hold his hair our of his face.) He should look ugly, Josh is sure, but somehow he looks adorable as _fuck._

Of course, the first time either of them happen to see anyone from their friend group that day happens while they’re having a _moment._ Dallon has his hands on Josh’s waist, and Josh has his arms over Dallon’s shoulders, and they’re _kissing_ and, really, it’s a very sweet moment, up until they hear a shout of, _“I fucking knew it!”_ from ten or so yards off.

Josh is the first to pull away so he can look in the direction of who shouted, and he feels the color drain out of his face when he sees Pete practically _running_ over, followed by Patrick, who looks more or less amused, and fucking _Joe,_ who Josh already hates, since he’s a dick, and since they’ve had a few _altercations_ in the past.

Dallon keeps his hand on Josh’s lower back, seeming to sense the spike in his anxiety, and subtly pops his knuckles as they’re being confronted. _“Please,_ explain to me what’s going on. I have _so_ many theories, and those two assholes think all of them are wrong.”

The five of them are standing a little off to the side of the event, and there aren’t a ton of people nearby, which is the only reason Josh speaks, to ask, “What are your theories?” with a quirked eyebrow. He may be a little nervous but he’s not about to let Pete boss him around.

“My first thought was that you were fucking around on Tyler with Dallon—”

Joe cuts Pete off to say, “He’s manic. I’m _so_ sorry about this.”

Pete shoots him a dirty look before continuing. “—but then I talked to Tyler, and it was like… Obviously that’s not the situation, because even if you _were,_ Tyler would know about it. So, then I was like… Maybe all of them are in a poly relationship—”

“—a _what?_ _”_ Josh makes a face.

“Poly. It’s like… More than two people in a relationship.”

“How do you even know what the fuck that is?”

“Have I introduced you to my boyfriend, Patrick, and his boyfriend, Joe?”

 _Oh._ Josh isn’t surprised by the revelation, but he wasn’t expecting it, that’s for sure.

“ _Anyways._ What’s the deal?” Josh believes it when Joe says Pete’s manic right now. He has the same look in his eyes that Tyler gets when he’s explaining something about his music whilst balls deep in a manic episode.

Josh looks to Dallon, and quietly asks, “Can I…?”

Dallon shrugs, meaning that it’s up to him.

“Uh. Think of a triangle, then think of me, him, and Tyler at each corner of it, and the sides are, like, our arms or something.”

Pete grins like a dumbass, and of _course_ he’s the one to be super excited over it. His next question has Josh rolling his eyes, though. “Does Brendon know?”

Dallon snorts and shakes his head. _“God,_ no. He broke up with me over my friendship with Josh, so I think if he found out that I was dating _both_ Josh and Tyler, he’d keel over immediately.”

The three of them eventually get bored and move on, and after they leave, Josh feels oddly happy about having introduced Dallon as, essentially, his and Tyler’s boyfriend.


End file.
